All Rise...

Judge Daryl Loomis's whole life is out of focus.

The Charge

You cannot escape him when all roads lead to death.

The Case

When making a retro style horror film, there's a fine line between trying too
hard to get it right, which makes it self-aware and too cute, and not trying
hard enough, which just makes it look junky. The Turnpike Killer takes it
one step farther by not trying at all. In a way, that makes it feel close to the
most bottom barrel 1980s horror productions, but I don't really know why anyone
would want to emulate those. Here it is, though, NY Horror Film Productions
presents The Turnpike Killer in all its trashy glory, in a suitably retro
"big box" package.

John Beest (Bill McLaughlin, The Super) is the maniac known as
"The Turnpike Killer," a brutal slasher who preys on the young women
of the Jersey Turnpike. The voices in his head tell him to kill and, sometimes,
he murders them outright, but often, he brings them back to his lair for a
little torture before finally dispatching them to the next world. After letting
one of his victims escape, he searches for her in vain while she goes to the
police. Finally with a credible lead, the cops begin their pursuit of Beest,
hoping they can find him before he kills again.

I was predisposed to dislike The Turnpike Killer from the opening
shot, when I realized the movie wasn't in focus. It must have been intentional,
and I remember a few movies from back in the day that shared this movie-killing
trait, but it's basically the death knell of a low budget movie.

Aside from that, it actually does get to the spirit of '80s low budget
horror, with all its sex and misogynist attitudes. Like New York Ripper
or The Toolbox Murders, it's
short on plot and mystery, but long on sex and violence, which no doubt has its
appeal. It doesn't try to be anything that it isn't, but what it's trying to be
isn't very good.

One thing to note is all the Greek names in the cast and crew. Many of those
involved are family members of director Evan Makrogiannis (The Super),
and those who aren't family are friends. I love the close knit nature of the
production and, while that's completely independent of the quality of the movie,
I think it's really cool and, regardless of the quality of this particular
feature, I hope Makrogiannis keeps going; he obviously loves the genre.

Even though the movie is awful, I have to hand it to NY Horror Film
Productions for the retro styling of their DVD set. The disc comes in an
old-school large size VHS box, the kind on the top shelves of video store horror
sections nationwide that I gravitated toward as a kid. Inside the box along with
the disc case comes a large film poster and a VHS copy of the film. There's no
tray for the tape inside, so it rattles around a bit, and there's no real reason
to watch it on tape, but the thought is appreciated. The disc itself is pretty
strong. Though the aforementioned problems with the film keep the image from
looking anything but awful, the transfer is error-free. The sound is fine, with
clear dialog that is balanced with the effects and music.

Aside from the cool box and swag that comes inside, for extra features we
have a feature-length documentary, Donuts and a Double Homicide, on the
making of a micro-budget genre film, is far more interesting than the film it
accompanies, and a short film called Devil Moon. This is interesting for
two reasons. First, it was written by a 13-year-old, apparently Makrogiannis's
son, and is much better conceived and filmed than the feature. Second, the image
on the short is in focus, meaning that Makrogiannis knows at least one person
who knows how to work a camera, and should have used him on The Turnpike
Killer.

I understand why somebody would want to revive the world of '80s
exploitation; I certainly saw my fair share of them. Unfortunately, The
Turnpike Killer is so poorly done, it's hard to watch. It does emulate the
mean-spiritedness of the movies it's based on, and the packaging is appreciated.
The market is limited for the film, though, which I think the filmmakers
understand, but its only appeal is within the hardcore horror community. They'll
embrace it, but everybody else should move along.